Heiltsuk leaders met with RCMP officials earlier this week over the "racist text and images" the officer posted on social media before joining the Mounties, but the officer remains on duty in Bella Bella and is awaiting a transfer.

A pod of killer whales has been spotted far offshore from the remote Vancouver Island inlet where an orphaned orca has been spending time since escaping a lagoon last month, but a member of her rescue team is downplaying the prospect of an imminent family reunion.

A rescue team working to coax a stranded killer whale calf from a lagoon off northern Vancouver Island is prepared to change tactics to save its life, including the possibility of lifting the orca out to the open ocean, says a Fisheries Department marine mammal co-ordinator.

British Columbia introduced proposed legislation on Thursday that would allow it to sue for health-related costs over damages by companies like social-media giants and energy drink manufacturers whose products could cause harm.

"I can't continue to be the only voice speaking up against antisemitism and Jew hatred," said Robinson. "All of this has made Jewish people feel unsafe and I have shared all of this with the premier's office over the last five months and I continue to be the only one who is saying we have to do something differently."

The B.C. government introduced legislation Tuesday setting 10-year targets to substantially reduce poverty in the province, focusing on children, while also making a first-time commitment to cut seniors' poverty by 50 per cent.

The budget also pledges to introduce a home flipping tax to deter real estate speculators and a commitment to provide one cycle of free invitro fertilization to anyone who wants to start a family, Finance Minister Katrine Conroy said Thursday.

The New Democrat government pledged more homes for middle-class people in British Columbia and eviction protection for renters in a throne speech that promised affordability measures in this week's budget, with a provincial election set for this fall.

British Columbia's recent cold snap has been life-threatening for people facing homelessness and struggling with addiction and mental health issues, says a spokesman for one of the province's largest shelters.

Provincial health minister Adrian Dix says the the situation is challenging but being managed.